Discover the best exercises and tools to lose weight, lower your injury risk and more

Ditch and Switch

Ditch and Switch

You’ve found an exercise plan that works for you (no small feat!), so why change it? Over time, your body adapts to the same routine, decreasing your calorie burn as your muscles get better at doing those same moves over and over. Instead of plateauing, try these simple upgrades to kick things up a notch—and keep getting results.

Instead of: a pedometer Try: a heart rate monitor

Instead of: a pedometer Try: a heart rate monitor

While a pedometer tells you how many steps you take, “if you want to burn more fat, you need to measure intensity,” says Guy Andrews, executive director of Exercise ETC, Inc., a fitness education provider in Fort Lauderdale, FL. And a heart rate monitor does just that. Strap one on and do your favorite cardio routine at a pace that causes breathlessness in two to three minutes. When it becomes difficult to speak, check your heart rate. “This is where you want to spend as much time as possible during exercise,” says Andrews.